


A Magician Never Reveals Their Secrets

by Paintedrocket



Category: Cookie Run (Video Game)
Genre: Anxiety, Autistic Character, Could be platonic or romantic your pick, Other, Sensory Overload, [Lemon cookie voice] so there's this he/they, because devsisters isn't here to tell me no, cinnamon cookie is also autistic, cinnamon cookie uses they/them, lemon cookie is autistic fight me, nonbinary cinnamon cookie, stage fright
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:07:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29924919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paintedrocket/pseuds/Paintedrocket
Summary: Lemon had never liked being the center of attention.  The mere idea of being in a spotlight with all eyes on him made his skin crawl.Luckily for him, it seems like a certain attention-loving magician has been in the same boat before.
Relationships: Cinnamon Cookie/Lemon Cookie (Cookie Run), Lemon Cookie and Cinnamon Cookie (Cookie Run)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 6





	A Magician Never Reveals Their Secrets

"Okay everybody, let's have one last round of applause for Grapefruit Cookie!"

Lemon clapped along with the others as Grapefruit took a bow. Lime and Orange, sitting on either side of him, cheered enthusiastically. The other cookies around them began to file out of the tent, but the three of them stayed behind.

"You did amazing!" Orange cried, pulling Grapefruit into a hug.

"Thanks, I've been practicing my butt off for weeks! And even then, my landings on those last few flips were a little shaky." Grapefruit smiled, though she looked incredibly exhausted.

"Could have fooled me, you made it look so easy!" Lime told her. She offered Grapefruit a water bottle, which was gratefully accepted with a nod of thanks.

"I could never do that," Lemon said, "All the lights, the sounds, everyone watching you… I was kinda nervous just sitting there."

Lime rolled her eyes. "Yeah Lemon, we get it, you're afraid of everything."

"Lime!" Orange scolded.

"What, it's true, isn't it?"

Grapefruit seemed to realize something, and looked around a bit frantically. "Hey, does anybody have the time?"

Lemon checked his phone. "Six fifteen."

"Crap, I gotta go!" Grapefruit bolted off, the other three running to catch up with her.

"Wait! Go where?" Orange called out, hand outstretched to try and grab Grapefruit.

"I promised one of the other performers I'd come to their six thirty show!"

"I'm sure they won't mind if you're a few minutes late…" Lemon bumped into another cookie, muttering an apology before taking off again.

"I don't wanna miss anything, and i don't wanna get there too late and have all the good seats taken!" Grapefruit skidded to a stop in front of a tent. "Ah, here it is!"

Lime squinted up at the sign. "Cinnamon, the Great and Terrible… What kinda tagline is that, are they good at their job or not?"

"They're better than good, Lime! They're amazing!" Grapefruit beamed with pride for her friend.

"Looks like a magic show," Orange said, "I haven't seen one of those since I was a kid."

"I mean, it's kinda redundant, isn't it? Plenty of cookies can do real magic. Why bother with the sleight of hand stuff?" Lemon examined the poster outside the tent, taking in the image of a dapper magician pulling an unenthusiastic rabbit out of their hat. It was pretty corny in his opinion, but there was a certain old-school charm to it as well.

"That's the cool part! They do all this stuff without any real magic! But they make it  _ look _ like real magic! It's so meta!" Grapefruit ushered everyone into the tent.

"That makes absolutely no sense." Lime whispered under her breath, earning her a nudge in the side from Orange.

"Just give the show a chance, okay? I think you guys will like it… it's not as good as  _ my _ show, though. Ooo, those look like good seats!"

The four of them sat down in some empty seats that were pretty close to the stage. Lemon was a bit nervous about that. They sat further in the back for Grapefruit's show, so the noises and lights didn't bother him as much, but this might be too much for him.

"Uh, you guys can sit here, I think I'll sit a little further back."

Grapefruit turned to him with a puzzled look. "What? But these are great seats! Plus, sometimes they have people from the audience help with tricks, and if we sit close they might pick us!"

Yeah, Lemon  _ definitely _ didn't want to sit up front. The last thing he wanted was to be on stage in front of hundreds of cookies.

"Yeah, no, I'll just-"

Suddenly, the lights began to dim in the tent, and a spotlight illuminated the center.

Well, it was too late now. The best Lemon could do was put his headphones on and slump down in his seat, hoping to draw as little attention as possible.

The star of the show appeared in a puff of colorful smoke, waving and grinning at their cheering audience.

Cinnamon was charismatic, Lemon gave them that. They carried themself like someone who'd done this for years. They didn't stutter or stammer, and they held their head high. It was like they were born to do this.

Lemon couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy.

"Okay, for my first trick, I'll need a volunteer from the audience!"

While Lime and Orange raised their hands and shouted excitedly, and Grapefruit literally stood up in her seat and waved her arms wildly, Lemon sunk further into his seat. He buried his face in his hands, hoping that of all the cookies here Cinnamon couldn't possibly pick-

"How about you?"

Lemon jumped when he heard a voice right next to his ear. He looked over to see Cinnamon, leaning against the back of his chair and giggling. The spotlight had followed them, casting the two of them in a circle of blindingly bright light.

"I, how did you, when-" Lemon stammered. He felt his face get hot, and couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.

"Oh, I have my ways. Lemme show you how it's done!" Cinnamon stuck their hand out to Lemon.

"Do it, Lemon!" He heard Grapefruit shout next to him. Despite this, he shook his head frantically.

"No no, really, I'm fine." He insisted, trying to turn back around.

"Aw c'mon buddy, why so sour?" Cinnamon asked, now leaning over the back of the chair. Lemon could hear others starting to laugh, and he wanted nothing more than to just sink into the floor and disappear.

Everything was too loud and too bright and everyone was watching him and when did Cinnamon get so close and he just couldn't take it anymore-

" _ I said leave me alone _ !" He screamed.

Cinnamon reeled back from the sudden reaction, and their grin disappeared. They fell silent for a few moments, as if trying to comprehend what had just happened. Like they'd never been told "no" before.

But in the blink of an eye, that smile returned, and the performance went on like nothing had happened.

"Well, that's quite alright!" They turned to Grapefruit, "How about you, young lady?"

As Cinnamon led her to the center of the tent, Lemon locked eyes with them one last time. He wasn't sure, but he could have sworn he saw them tearing up.

He got up while Orange and Lime were distracted, and made his leave. He'd seen quite enough for the day.

He didn't know how long he'd stayed, sitting on a bench and fiddling with his favorite puzzle cube. The bustling crowds and flashy performers seemed content to ignore him, like he wasn't even there. Just the way he liked it.

Eventually, he heard footsteps approach.

"Hey."

"Gah!" Lemon's head snapped up, glaring at Cinnamon. "Really wish you wouldn't do that."

"S-sorry." Cinnamon mumbled, looking down at their shoes. For once, they seemed… vulnerable. There was no act here; They looked genuinely nervous, rocking on their heels and brushing stray locks of hair out of their face. They pointed to the empty space on the bench. "This seat taken?"

"Knock yourself out." Lemon sighed, turning his attention back to his cube.

"Thanks." Cinnamon sat down, looking at the cube. "I used to love doing those puzzles when I was a kid, y'know. Never got around to finishing one." They laughed softly, but now there was no joy behind it.

They sat in silence for a few moments, before it got too unbearable even for Lemon.

"So uh… about what happened back there. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings." He still couldn't bring himself to look Cinnamon in the eye, but he continued, "I don't really do well with crowds or being the center of attention. And between that and all the lights and noise… I just got really overwhelmed, and I ended up taking it out on you. It was a shitty thing for me to do, and I'm really sorry."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Cinnamon said, "It's not the first time it's happened, and it won't be the last. If anything, I should apologize to you. I shouldn't have pushed your buttons like that. I could have just moved on and picked someone else, but I didn't. I should have known better, I've been there before."

"Wait," Lemon finally raised his head again, cocking an eyebrow at Cinnamon. "What do you mean you've been there before?"

Cinnamon cleared their throat, glancing to the side. "Right, so… when I was little, I had stage fright.  _ Really bad _ stage fright. I could barely talk to one cookie, let alone a whole theater. I was so scared of messing up, scared that others would laugh at me or think I was crazy or annoying. I was like a whole different cookie back then." They shook their head with a wistful smile. "How times have changed, huh?"

"Yeah, but… how'd you do it?" Lemon asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

"Well, it wasn't easy. I started small. I was really into magic tricks, even when I was that young. I started reading books on simple tricks, and then I'd…" They snickered, now sounding much happier. "Nah, never mind, you're gonna think it's stupid."

"I promise I won't." Lemon smiled back.

"Okay, okay." Cinnamon took a deep breath before they continued, "I used to put on shows for my toys and stuffed animals. After I got used to that, I did tricks for my family. After that it was my friends. Then I put on a magic show for the school. And… Well, after so many years working my way up, I found the guts to try out for the circus, and now here we are."

"Huh," Lemon pondered, "I always figured it was just something you were born with."

"Oh not at all! But that was just me. I know some cookies who never had a problem with performing, even when they were young. And I know some cookies who still can't bring themselves to do it, and they're perfectly content with that. Hell, I still have some problems with it. You know how I learned to shuffle a deck of cards so well?"

"How?"

"Because if I don't keep my hands busy before I do a show, I start going nuts. I picked a hole the size of a baseball into my cape one time. I gotta do this just so I don't start shaking or pulling my hair or who knows what else. Better than smoking, I guess. Cheaper, too." They pulled a deck from their pocket, shuffling it at a surprising speed as if to make their point to Lemon. "So I guess, what I'm trying to say is… Try talking to your stuffed animals or something. And keep your hands busy. I dunno. This is why I'm not a therapist." Cinnamon shrugged, but it was clear a spark of happiness had returned to them.

"That's actually pretty good advice," Lemon put his cube back in his pocket and scooted closer to Cinnamon, "most cookies just tell me to get over it and talk to others."

"Yeah, well-"

"Lemon! There you are!"

Orange, Lime and Grapefruit ran up to him, looking out of breath.

"We've been looking all over for you!" Lime panted, "After the show ended, we noticed you left! Why didn't you say anything?"

"You totally missed the show! It was awesome! I got sawed in half!" Grapefruit bounced up and down, much to Lemon's amusement.

"Oh no, I guess that means you'll have to come back for another show." Cinnamon said, placing a hand on their chest with a look of mock sadness, "What a pity."

"As long as I get to sit in the back next time, I'll be there. I can't wait to not be a volunteer." Lemon got up, allowing Grapefruit to drag him back to the group.

"And I can't wait to respect that! See ya!" Cinnamon called out to him.

Once they were out of earshot, Orange smiled at Lemon.

"Looks like you ended up having fun after all, huh? Are you really gonna go to another show?"

"Probably," Lemon said, "We had a good talk earlier. Cinnamon seems… really nice. We had more in common than I thought."

"Good to hear! Who knows, maybe one day you'll be their lovely assistant." Orange winked, earning a groan from Lemon.

"I doubt it."

But as they left the circus, the conversation with Cinnamon wouldn't leave his mind. To think that such a talkative, laid-back cookie had once been as shy and nervous as him… was it really possible for him to do the same?

He took out his cube again, feeling the tension melt from his shoulders as he twisted it every which way.

Maybe Cinnamon was onto something after all.


End file.
